Cigarette use going up in smoke by 2050, analyst predicts

Smoking will disappear by 2050 from the United States, parts of Europe, Australia and large chunks of Latin America if the declining trend seen in the previous decades continues, an analyst at Citigroup wrote in a note published Tuesday.

Cigarette use in a number of developing countries may fall to zero in the next three decades as smokers quit or switch to alternative products, according to a new report. Smoking will disappear by 2050 from the U.S., parts of Europe, Australia and large chunks of Latin America if the declining trend seen in the last decades continues, Adam Spielman, analyst at Citi, wrote in a note published Tuesday. The analysis shows how important it is for Big Tobacco to arm itself with competitive cigarette alternatives. The industry has been undergoing some of the biggest changes in its history: The number of children currently smoking has plunged by almost three-quarters in the last 20 years, tobacco use among men is on the decline for the first time on record and cigarette volumes have been falling in a straight line for decades.